Star casting announced for THE WIZARD OF I UK & Ireland tour

It has been announced today that Strictly Come Dancing’s longest-standing judge, Craig Revel Horwood, and RuPaul’s Drag Race UK winner and Dancing on Ice finalist, The Vivienne will both play The Wicked Witch of the West in the upcoming tour of The Wizard of Oz, with Gary Wilmot reprising his West End role as The Wizard following a celebrated run at the world-famous London Palladium.

The new musical, based on the iconic story by L. Frank Baum, tours the UK and Ireland throughout 2023-2024 where the trio will play select dates. Further casting is to be announced for all dates.

Craig Revel Horwood will perform as The Wicked Witch of the West in Woking, Belfast, Dublin, Birmingham, Glasgow, Aberdeen, Milton Keynes, and Cardiff.

The Vivienne will appear in a previously announced Christmas season at the Liverpool Empire* as The Wicked Witch of the West before touring to Oxford, Southampton, Hull, Sheffield, Plymouth, Bristol, Nottingham, Newcastle, Manchester, Wolverhampton and Sunderland.

The Vivienne will be joined by Gary Wilmot as The Wizard in the following cities: Canterbury, Edinburgh, Southend, Norwich, Llandudno, and Bradford.

*Aston Merrygold will perform as The Tin Man in Liverpool.

Craig Revel Horwood said: “I am super excited about taking on the iconic role of The Wicked Witch of the West in The Wizard of Oz. She’s mean, green and wants those shoes! Aquaphobic and fab-u-lous…here I come!”

The Vivienne adds: “It is quite literally a dream come true to be asked to play The Wicked Witch of the West and to bring this amazing character to life. The Wizard of Oz means everything to me, it’s the ultimate story of overcoming adversity. I first saw the movie aged five and I’ve probably seen it about 100 times since. I played The Tin Man at primary school and got to skate to ‘Over The Rainbow’ on Dancing on Ice so it’s fair to say I’ve had a life-long love affair with the story. Your favourite characters are all there, telling the story you know and love … but with SO much more added to this new production. Prepare to be whisked into an amazing new world of colour.”

Gary Wilmot continues: ”I am delighted to revisit a role so wonderful, it’s in the name! Performing as The (wonderful) Wizard in a smash-hit season at the London Palladium was truly a magical experience and I can’t wait to share that with venues around the country next year.”

Directed by Nikolai Foster, The Wizard of Oz has choreography by Shay Barclay, with set design by Colin Richmond, projection design by Douglas O’Connell, costume and puppet design by Rachael Canning, lighting by Ben Cracknell, sound by Adam Fisher, musical supervision by George Dyer, and casting by Debbie O’Brien.

To book tickets for select touring venues, please click here.